Case Studies - Air Travel Companion

»ATC flight nurse/medical escort to accompany an elderly man from Athens hospital to home city of Melbourne (Australia) providing all travel and Medical Assistance en route.

An ATC flight nurse/medical escort flew from Sydney to Athens and on arrival was escorted by ground transport to meet the client who was an in-patient at an Athens hospital. The ATC escort carried out a fit-to-fly assessment of the client and concluded that his condition was far worse than indicated by pre-assignment briefing from the Sydney based medical expert who had been retained by the client’s travel insurer.

The ATC escort liaised with ATC head office and the medical expert informing them that the client was in immediate need of advanced medical treatment not readily available to him in Athens. The travel insurer immediately organised client transfer by emergency air ambulance from Athens to London. The ATC flight nurse/medical escort assisted with all arrangements and accompanied the client for the whole journey from the Athens hospital to the London Hospital including all ground transfers and the Air Ambulance flight.

The client’s medical condition was assessed by medical staff on arrival at the London hospital as unfit-to-travel from London to Melbourne for at least 10 weeks. The client remained in the London hospital and the ATC flight nurse/medical escort returned to Australia.

» ATC flight nurse/medical escort to accompany an elderly woman on return journey from Jerusalem to Sydney via London and to provide all travel and medical assistance.

The client had a near fatal accident whilst in Israel on a tour with her Sydney Church group. After many weeks in intensive care in Jerusalem the client was assessed as fit-to-fly home but only with the assistance of a flight nurse/medical escort.

An ATC flight nurse/medical escort flew from Sydney to Tel Aviv and on arrival transferred by ground transport to Jerusalem. On arrival at the hospital the ATC flight nurse/medical escort met with the client and the treating hospital staff and was able to satisfy herself that the client’s condition had not deteriorated and that client was fit-to-fly.

The client was most distressed by her medial condition, being separated from her group and being away from home and family for so long on this her very first overseas journey. The ATC escort was able to allay all fears and provided re-assurance through her patience, understanding and caring nature. The continual accompaniment by the ATC escort from leaving the hospital in Jerusalem to re-uniting with her family in Sydney was a further assurance. The ATC escort carefully explained each step of the journey including flights, transfers and hotel arrangements for overnight stay at Heathrow Airport.

Travel assistance provided by the ATC travel nurse escort included items such as confirmation of pre-booked seating, access to pre-arranged on-board oxygen, ensuring wheelchair awaiting on her arrival at Tel Aviv and Heathrow airports. The ATC escort attended to the client’s needs at the hotel which involved packing her suitcase, obtaining and securing all valuables including documentation - passport, flight tickets and other travel documents. On arrival at Heathrow airport the client was transferred to the Airport Hilton for a 10 hour stopover before being returned to the airport where the escort and client were assisted through customs/immigration before boarding the flight to Sydney.

The ATC flight nurse/medical escort constantly assessed the client’s oxygen needs and monitored the supply throughout the flight to Sydney. As the client was unsteady on her feet, general travel assistance was provided such as assisting in getting to/from bathroom as and when required at anytime. A smooth and complete handover of the client to awaiting family members and medical staff was assured as the ATC travel nurse escort had documented all medical notes during the entire assignment.